Thermal aggregation of proteins in presence of metal ions.

The study of the aggregation processes in presence of metal ions is an essential step for understanding the key role of metals in protein-protein and protein-solvent interactions. Indeed, the presence of metal ions can radically change the main features of the standard denaturation/aggregation processes and such effects result to be strongly dependent on the kind of metal and on its concentration. Metal ions have an active role in thermal aggregation and cold set gelation processes. These processes are intrinsically different, but both are based on the proteins ability to form aggregates.